Direct Management - Indirectly!
Sorry about the odd title.
What I am trying to communicate here is a situation that is playing out at work with a close colleague.
I suspect that he is coming under the spotlight a bit from our manager.
He's a good bloke, very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about what he does. However, he does have a tendency to prevaricate and take his time over things. I get the impression that our manager finds his demeanour a bit too laid back.
The manager is under pressure. There is a lot of work building up and she is under the spotlight. Important deadlines are fast approaching.
I placed a post recently about this on this forum entitles "Indirect Management". What I meant by this was that I am trying to support or "manage" him indirectly via encouragement, subliminal messages and suggestions.
I am wondering though whether I should more explicity - or too put it more succinctly - blunt with him.
I may be completely wrong but if he doesn't come across more positively I think he could be in trouble.
Any thoughts or similar situations?
Problem Switching to Me!
I have just posted on my blog how my boss was displeased with me this week. She criticised me that I hadn't picked up sufficient product knowledge and that it had been exposed at a corporate event.
I described it as part of one of my "Asperger Days". What I mean by this is that, if I have come up short in one area, I tend to feel very uncomfortable about it and the day in question becomes a write-off as I become consciously aware of my difficulties.
The key thing that I dislike as someone with Asperger syndrome at work is having a the cloud of uncertainty hanging over my head. What I am slightly worried about is that the same impression of me is building as it did in the case of my (now ex) colleague above.
In the above instance it was my fault of course insofar as I had not learnt about the products sufficiently and I know that the best way to rectify the situation is to do something positive about it by getting things done. What I have also found helps is not dwelling on it or referring it back to my manager so it creates the impression that I know I am unsettled.
Against that I know from past experience that, if such a situation/impression were to persist, then the best thing to do is confrontg it head on. I cannot work when I am in this frame of mind. Timing is always a key factor though in deciding when the time is right to confront the issue.
I was wondering if anyone else had experienced anything similar and what their stratgey was?
Close colleague
Is your colleague a superior, peer, subordinate, what action is the manager likely to take because of his laid-back attitude, or the effects of his attitude on your workload?
Peer Colleague
He is a close colleague and - I think - slightly higher in the pecking order than me (he has the title Senior after his name)though our responsibilities are identical.
This is a classic Asperger situation to me. I can't gauge it. The manager is not the ruthless, one-shot-and-your out type, but she is no shrinking violet either (one of the reasons I like her: she is firm but fair and goes about things the right way).
She personally is under a lot of pressure at the moment to deliver a new product, reach targets etc. There is also a lot more going on behind the scenes which is steadily becoming apparent. We have secured some new, exciting opportunities as a result of business development for example.
The last thing my manager needs at this moment in time is distractions and that is, I think, was is causing her to get irritated somewhat.
I don't think that my colleague is in any immediate danger because there is so much on the horizon and to lose and replace him would be very problematic at an important time. I also don't think that he has dome anything "mega" wrong to date. I do feel though that she is getting impatient with him and that that her patience is getting thin.
Its not affecting me directly per se. My past experience and having AS has taught me that the best thing to do in these situations to to stay out of the fray as best one can and deliver.
Against that I do want to support him as best I can (I like him and he is a colleague). My aim is to try and nudge him by offering hints and advice wherever I can.
I am going to be interested to see how this pans out and am going to use it as an "Asperger" learning opportunity!!!
Honestly, I wouldn't get
Honestly, I wouldn't get very involved. It's up to the manager to manage and if she isn't happy with his work or his attitude, she is quite able to call him in to her office and tell him so.
Getting so worried about these others may make your own work suffer and different people have different ways of coping with pressure. The "laid back" demeanor of your workmate may actually hide a mind full of anxiety or he might find it more effective not to get too het up about his work.
Keeping Your Head Down
Thank you for that. I think that it is very sound advice.
I think that what I was looking to do is support him indirectly by emphasising that he concentrates on delivering tangibles.
However, I think that you are on the right lines from an Asperger perspective. I have in the past, perhaps, got too involved in these things when, given the AS propensity to become emotive or a tad too opinionated, have transgressed on sensitivities which have re-bounded on me.
I need to continually bear in mind that I should be looking after my own position first-and-foremost!